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Reviews of Ben Cruachan inn

4 out of 5
Ben Cruachan inn
Ben Cruachan inn, Dalmally, Scotland

Reviews

9.4

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 93 out of 127 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 27 out of 127 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 4 out of 127 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 127 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 127 reviews" "

9.6/10

Cleanliness

9.6/10

Staff & service

8.8/10

Amenities

9.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Keith

We had a separate suite with a kitchenette. Extra space and facility with our dog. Lovely, modern and well equipped.
Stayed 6 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Nicholas

Travelled with partner
We had a lovey mini break, the place was perfect for our hiking plans around the area. The staff were very friendly and helpful, really nice Cosey bar with a big fire.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Apr 20, 2024
Thank you for your lovely feedback and taking the time to leave a positive review.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Enjoyed our stay, peaceful and quiet. Staff were extremely friendly and welcoming. Would have liked to see a little more variety on the menu, however food was delicious.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Feb 21, 2024
Thank you for leaving a lovely review.

6/10 Okay

Aneha

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Staff were friendly and helpful. However did feel like the room smelt a little strange. The food in the main area was delicious.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Jan 18, 2024
Hi Aneha, I'm disappointed to read a phantom smell has appeared in your room. We'll look into this. I'm glad otherwise the Inn was able to offer you some lovely food and service.

10/10 Excellent

Josh

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing stay. Gorgeous views and great dinner. Our checkin agent was also our bartender. He was amazing!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Aug 20, 2023
Hi Josh, We're a small team and turn our hand to all jobs, thank you so much for the positive review.

10/10 Excellent

Patricia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Clean and comfortable , ideal for an overnight stay, breakfast a little expensive though
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Aug 20, 2023
Thank you for leaving us positive feedback, I do hope you found the breakfast to be good value.

10/10 Excellent

Gerd

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Friendly, helpful and personable staff. Rooms clean and easily excisable.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Aug 15, 2023
Thank you for leaving us a positive review. We appreciate your time.

10/10 Excellent

LJ

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful inn made better by great staff & service
Due to a series of traffic incidents, we ended up running late for our scheduled check-in and rang ahead to let staff at the inn know. We were tired and stressed and their response couldn't have been more lovely and reassuring. We had a very good night's sleep in 2 of the garden suites which were immaculately clean, very spacious and had great facilities for a family of 5 travelling with their dog. We booked a hot breakfast for the following morning which was both delicious and filling. We would definitely be happy to return, hopefully with more time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings next time!
Outside the garden suites looking back towards the main Inn building
View from the front of the garden suites towards Loch Awe
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Aug 15, 2023
Thank You LJ, We do hope to see you again and it's never any trouble staying up late for friendly folk like yourselves.

10/10 Excellent

Léonie

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Très contants de notre séjour. :)
Nous avons séjourné en famille durant 2 nuits. La vue était magnifique. La cuisine était fonctionnelle. L'endroit très propre. Très bon accueil à la réception. Très facile pour parquer la voiture.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Aug 10, 2023
Bonjour, thank you for leaving us a positive review. We appreciate your time and hope to see you again soon.

10/10 Excellent

David

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely stop in the Western Highlands
An excellent place to stay on Loch Awe. 3 minutes' walk from the train station - take the gravel pathway leading to a slope at the end of the platform, rather than the steep stairs up from the platform itself, if you have heavy luggage. Scottish Citylink coaches stop right outside the front door - there is no marked bus stop but you can just wave the driver down. Oban is 20 miles away (35 minutes by train). The Inn is impeccably kept and the welcome is very warm and friendly.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Jul 25, 2023
Hello David, We very much appreciate you taking the time to leave a positive review.

10/10 Excellent

Jan-Tore

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I had a wonderful experience at this charming hotel. Room was cozy and clean, and the views from our room were breathtaking. The staff was friendly and the food was off good. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my stay.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay on Jul 1, 2023
Thank you very much for your review.

10/10 Excellent

Ann

Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Jun 26, 2023
We appreciate the positive review.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely self catering room- exactly what we needed
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You for leaving a positive review

10/10 Excellent

Seonaid

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from Mike Lindsay - General Manager on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Comfortable, good food, well maintained, cute location.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Mike - Ben Cruachan Inn on Mar 26, 2023
Thank You!

10/10 Excellent

Catherine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We had a brilliant stay and would not hesitate to return. Stayed in one of the apartments which was clean, comfortable and modern (would benefit from a side table and lamp in the living area). Really friendly staff, cosy bar area and excellent food. Another vegetarian option on the menu would have been good, but otherwise food was of a really high quality and reasonably priced. Overall an amazing stay!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Mike - Ben Cruachan Inn on Mar 26, 2023
Thank you so much. We agree on the Vegetarian Option, and have added multiple to our newly launched Spring Menu, there are more coming for summer too!

10/10 Excellent

Paul

Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Mike - Ben Cruachan Inn on Apr 6, 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review.

10/10 Excellent

Steven, Baulkham Hills

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful location, great food, fantastic people.
Response from Team Ben Cruachan on Jan 14, 2023
Thank you for your kind words, and taking the time to post a review. We hope to see you again in the future!

10/10 Excellent

Jane

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location, fabulous food, friendly staff!
This was a great place to spend our last night touring Scotland. The food was fantastic, by far the best meal we’d had on the trip. We stayed in one of the garden chalets over looking the loch. It’s a little compact but has everything you need and great soundproofing. The shower was also the best we’d had by miles for good water pressure and at last a bath towel big enough to wrap around your entire body! My only small observation would be that the sofa bed in the lounge area isn’t very comfortable to sit for a long time, so not sure what it would be like to sleep on. Also the walls in both rooms were badly scuffed and marked which if given a fresh coat of paint would give a better first impression. As with all the places we stayed in, they are very short staffed. So be patient and prepared for a little wait to be served, as they are doing the best that they can. All in all though this was a great ending to our fabulous tour of beautiful Scotland. We would definitely return.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022
Response from Cameron on Sep 29, 2022
Jane,Thank you for staying with us and taking the time to review your stay. Yes 100% agree with you on the scuff marks. We paint these between end and start of season every year; but they do indeed take a bit of a battering between May and September when we run at full occupancy and have no chance to keep up the paint work. Thank you so much for your patience with our lack of staff, something that is hampering our industry throughout the UK, especially in remote areas.

10/10 Excellent

Gabriele

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2022
Response from Team Ben Cruachan on Sep 17, 2022
Thank You

10/10 Excellent

Megan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022
Response from Team Memeber on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You

10/10 Excellent

Neil

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A very pleasant overnight break of journey.
Lovely surroundings, with our garden suite room overlooking the loch. The staff were very welcoming and service was excellent, with the food matching that too. Added to the list of places we would like to return to (maybe by train: the station is just over the road, but you would not know it unless you looked closely).
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022
Response from Cameron on Sep 6, 2022
Neil,Thank you for taking the time to leave a wee review of your stay. Hope you had a good onward journey and to see you by train next time.

10/10 Excellent

Alexander

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
>xcellent, Dot friendly and great food.
Ver clean and tidy in our "garden Room". Whilst it was equipped for self-catering we ate in the excellent restaurant, The premises are dog friendly and the staff are attentive. The food is better than the menu suggests and is proper restaurant quality,
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022
Response from Cameron on Sep 4, 2022
Alexander,Thank you for taking the time to leave us some feedback of your stay. Great to hear you enjoyed and hope you had a good onward jounrey.

10/10 Excellent

lisa

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We had a fantastic stay. The hotel staff were extremely helpful and gave us good recommendations of places to visit. Very happy with the food and our room.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022
Response from Cameron on Aug 25, 2022
Lisa,Thank you for taking the time to leave some feedback of your stay. Glad you had a great time in the area and hope you had a good inward jounrey.

6/10 Okay

Eric, Yarrow Point

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Super friendly staff. Convenient location. The rooms are a bit outdated and less comfortable.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022
Response from Cameron on Aug 20, 2022
Eric,Thank you for taking the time to leave us some feedback. We appreciate your comments about the rooms in the main building. We do have plans in place to upgrade some of the facilities at the end of the season.

10/10 Excellent

Ian, Dubai

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The condition of the property is superb and the service is professional, friendly and very high standard. I have visited 50 countries and this is one of the most pleasant experiences I have had at any stay. I will be going again.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022
Response from Cameron on Aug 9, 2022
Ian, Thank you for your kind words and great to hear you enjoyed your stay. Hope you had a good onward journey and to see you again when you are in the area.

10/10 Excellent

Ian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Outstanding!
A fantastic inn, an absolute treat. We stayed in one of the rooms at the back of the Inn, above the bar / restaurant, no view, but very spacious and comfortable. Extremely quiet too, we had completely undisturbed sleep. Restaurant served excellent food and the bar was well stocked. Brilliant, attentive and friendly service throughout the stay. Free parking. Would stay again in a heartbeat.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022
Response from Cameron on Aug 9, 2022
Ian, Thank you so much for your review of your stay and taking the time to do so. Great to hear you had an enjoyable experience and hope to see you again.

10/10 Excellent

Jennifer

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Get family trip!
Lovely views, excellent service and clean space. The food was fantastic and we can't wait to come back again!
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Cameron on Aug 6, 2022
Jennifer, Thank you so much for your kind words. Look forward to seeing you all again soon.

10/10 Excellent

laurie

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022
Response from Cameron on Aug 2, 2022
Thank you Laurie.

10/10 Excellent

Shelley

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great service, excellent shower, nice restaurant.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Cameron on Jul 19, 2022
Shelley, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Hope you had a good onward journey.

10/10 Excellent

Vivian

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff were very helpful and friendly. It was a quaint inn.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Cameron on Jul 19, 2022
Vivian, Thank you for your feedback and glad you enjoyed your stay..

10/10 Excellent

Alison

Travelled with pets, Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel is in a lovely location and was perfect for bringing our dog. We stayed in one of the garden apartments which had its own area of decking and easy access to the garden and hotel. The apartment was well equipped and had a fridge (contrary to an earlier post), which was handy. Would recommend for a short break.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022
Response from Mike Lindsay - Ben Cruachan Inn on Jul 3, 2022
Thank you for the positive review and recommendation. We hope to see you again.

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Mike Lindsay - Ben Cruachan Inn on Jun 22, 2022
Thank you very much for the positive feedback.

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This hotel was beautiful, clean and tidy. The staff were excellent. Nothing was a problem. The view out of this world. Sitting by log fire was just lovely. Food was excellent. We had a lovely time and most definitely will stay again. Thankyou
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2022
Response from Cameron on Jun 13, 2022
Michael, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review of your stay. Great to hear you enjoyed and hoe you had a good onward journey.

10/10 Excellent

Marcus

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastic break on our road trip
Ben Cruachan Inn is set back from the road and overlooking Loch Awe. There was plenty of parking and the building looked like it had just been refurbished with both the common areas and the rooms looking excellent. Our room was actually an apartment with a cooker and separate kitchen (no fridge though) as well as the bedroom and bathroom. It was fantastically quiet and well thought out and in hindsight we should have stayed a couple of days instead of just the one. The staff were exceptional too, not fawning but just keen to do a good job. The dinner was superb – beetroot hummus with focaccia followed by hake with gnochi – absolutely delicious. Had a cider too just to put me 1500 over my calories for the day as I’d done nothing other than driving, I did manage to refuse dessert though. It was nice to sit down in a civilised environment and unwind. Deb thought so too after 3 large glasses of wine! We had a great breakfast at the hotel, listening to the birds singing and looking at the view over Loch Awe.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Cameron on Jun 10, 2022
Marcus, Deb, Thank you for staying with us and glad you had a great time. There are fridges in the apartments underneath the worktops but the door does look like a normal cupboard to blend in. Hope you had a great onwards journey and to see you again soon.

6/10 Okay

John

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The hotels in the area were busy so I was glad to get a room in this hotel. It is a lovely restaurant with rooms above. Unfortunately we were in the “accessible” room so it lacked some cozy features like carpets and soft furnishings, it felt austere. But it was just for one night and the bed was very comfortable.
Stayed 1 night in May 2022
Response from Cameron on Jun 14, 2022
Hi John, Thank you taking the time to leave a review of your stay and providing us some feedback. We are a little behind in getting our soft furnishing details back into rooms and still awaiting delivery of a few items to enhance these features. I'm afraid non of our rooms have carpets though on the basis of hygiene. Hope you had a good onward journey..

10/10 Excellent

Craig

Stayed 1 night in May 2022
Response from Cameron on Jun 7, 2022
Craig, glad you enjoyed your stay and hope to see you again.

10/10 Excellent

Elouise

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Clean comfortable and quiet with nice food.
Stayed 1 night in May 2022
Response from Cameron on Jun 7, 2022
Elouise, Glad you enjoyed your stay and hope to see you again.

8/10 Good

Danielle

Travelled with pets, Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely Self Catering lodge for a nights stay. Staff were all very helpful and friendly on check in
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022
Response from Cameron on Jun 7, 2022
Danielle, thank you for your feedback on your stay.

8/10 Good

Sharon

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022
Response from Team Member on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You

10/10 Excellent

mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Little Gem
Excellent Hotel over looking Loch Awe. modern room and lovely restaurant.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2022
Response from Cameron on Mar 29, 2022
Mark, Thank you for taking the time leave a review. Great to hear you enjoyed your stay.

10/10 Excellent

Alexia

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Clean warm rooms with ample space for two people. nice view from living room and patio. friendly staff. 🙂
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2022
Response from Cameron on Mar 29, 2022
Alexia, Thank you for leaving a review. Hope you had a good onward journey.

6/10 Okay

Tim

Travelled with pets, Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Very disappointed on check-in to be given a substandard, disabled room. Told it was the only room available, despite that we had booked well in advance. Fortunately, we were able to move rooms for the second night. The bar area is pleasant, especially around the featured log burner. The food was quite acceptable but the menu did not vary between the two nights. Nicely dog friendly.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2022
Response from Team Member on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You, please do note that the "Accessible room" would be allocated to any guest booking at the inn. It's of the exact same standards as all other rooms here at the inn, the only difference being a bedside pull cord alarm and remote operated window. If the shower chair inside the wardrobe is of concern to you then please do stay elsewhere next time. We are an inclusive inn and welcome all, from all walks of life and those who require mobility assistance.

10/10 Excellent

Shannon

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022
Response from Team Member on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You

10/10 Excellent

Caitlin

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022
Response from Cameron on Feb 27, 2022
Caitlin, Thank you for your feedback. Great to hear you enjoyed your stay and hope to see you again soon.

10/10 Excellent

helen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Super friendly staff who looked after us very well. Lots of fun. Thank you Rooms are comfortable and have everything you might need.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2022
Response from Team Member on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You

10/10 Excellent

Stuart

Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2021
Response from Team Member on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You

10/10 Excellent

Carolyn

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely location by loch awe. Perfect for relaxing. Very comfortable. Good food
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021
Response from Team Member on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You

8/10 Good

Georgina, London

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely spacious suite to stay in while travelling through the Scottish highlands. Although the restaurant menu could do with a little more variety; the quality of the food was top notch and we had a wonderful stay. Two comments for management - shower gel and shampoo in the bathroom and some towel racks would be appreciated additions.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2021
Response from Team Member on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You

10/10 Excellent

Heather

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent food in the bar. Very friendly staff. Comfortable quiet accommodation
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021
Response from Team Member on Jun 26, 2023
Thank You